Primer on Baptism
In the rite of baptism, the first question asked of parents is “What name have you given to your child?” The next question is “What do you ask of God’s Church for your child?” The response of the parents is often along the lines of “baptism, faith, the grace of Christ, entrance into the Church or eternal life.” The significance of baptism is that through the waters of baptism the child becomes grafted onto Christ and the seed of faith draws one into the inner life of God. Baptism declares that we have been created by God and we are created for God and only in God will we find our ultimate happiness.

The life of faith which begins at baptism always entails a response on our part to the gift of God. Jesus reminds us “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.” (John 15:16) and also in the letter of Saint John “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

The Church then asks “Godparents, are you ready to help the parents of this child in their duty as Christian parents?”

Godparents play a significant role in the life of the one to be baptized by their own witness and intercessory role. This is apparent to me as in the gospel story of the healing of the paralytic. (Mark 2:1-12) The friends of the man who is paralyzed lower him through the roof in order to get him to Jesus. We then read “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mark 2:5) We do not know if this paralytic believed in God, in Jesus or even wanted to be healed. All we know is that he had good friends. It was the faith of the friends (or that of godparents) that can be actively involved in interceding for others and bringing them to Jesus.

The rite continues “My dear child, the Christian community welcomes you with great joy. In its name I claim you for Christ our Savior by the sign of his cross. I now trace the cross on your forehead, and invite your parents and godparents to do the same.” We have been claimed by Christ and we are to follow Christ each day. As we embrace our cross each day, particularly those we do not choose, the Lord accompanies us and the grace of God transforms our sorrows and gives us strength.

The rite of baptism concludes with a prayer for the parents reminding them, “You are the first teachers of your child in the ways of faith. May you be the best of teachers bearing witness to the faith in what you say and do in Christ Jesus our Lord” and “they now thank God for the gift of their child. May they be one with them in thanking God for ever in heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Pope Francis’ comments on baptism include:
“But the risk is to lose the memory of that which the Lord has done in us, the memory of the gift that we have received. We end up considering it as only an event that happened in the past – and not even by our own will, but that of our parents, – that no longer has any effect in our present. We must awaken the memory of our Baptism.

Awaken the memory of Baptism. We are called to live our Baptism every day as an actual reality in our existence.”

Peace, Father Randy